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“You nursed Atlas back to health?” Eleanor asked.

“Is that so surprising?” Gabriel asked. “He was wounded and didn’t deserve to die. I hope anyone would have done the same.”

“I’m not sure everyone would have.” Eleanor smiled as she looked from the dog to its master.

Gabriel glanced at Atlas. “Atlas took to you almost instantly.”

“I’m good with animals,” Eleanor said, smiling at Atlas.

“No, it’s not that,” Gabriel told him. “Atlas, as you just saw, is not always good with people. He has never harmed anyone, but he will bark furiously at those he doesn’t know. He only wants to protect me and my household. He has never gone to anyone on first meeting them, as he did with you. Perhaps after weeks, he might soften to a person, but never instantly.”

“Then he must be an astute judge of character.” Eleanor raised an eyebrow above her twinkling eyes.

“Hmm,” was all Gabriel gave her.

Eleanor only smiled back at him.

Gabriel looked down at Atlas, and he couldn’t help but smirk at the situation.

“Go on then,” he said to Atlas. “You know you want to.”

Atlas looked up at his master, and then crossed the short distance between Gabriel and Eleanor to lay his head in the lady’s lap.

“I hope he does not drool on you too much,” Gabriel told her. “I can have a maid come by to help you clean up if he does stain your dress, and I will, of course, buy you another. Do you need any new dresses for the Season?”

“Nate took me shopping last month to ensure I have everything I need,” Eleanor said. “That’s very kind of you to offer.”

A maid entered with an ewer of water, a bowl, and a couple of cloths. She was followed by Margaret. A footman followed her in with a laden tray held aloft.

“Eleanor, do you see this?” Margaret asked.

Eleanor wasn’t sure what her mother was talking about, but it became clear when Margaret sat back down and looked gleefully at the footman.

“What do you feed your servants, Your Grace? Are they all selected for their remarkable appearance?”

“Mother!” Eleanor gasped.

“There’s nothing wrong with appreciating a man’s appearance,” Margaret protested. “Especially one as handsome as this.”

The footman didn’t break his stride through the compliments, and placed the empty glass down on the table beside the dowager viscountess.

Margaret stared at the footman with a wide smile as he tried to complete his task, and when Margaret reached out to touch his arm, the footman almost dropped the bottle.

“Mother!” Eleanor gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, it’s only a little harmless fun, my dear.”

Eleanor turned with a pleading look in her eyes to face Gabriel.

“If she becomes too much, I shall tell her so,” Gabriel said. “We need not worry about it.”

Eleanor looked even more mortified than she had previously, and Gabriel couldn’t tell if she was more annoyed at her mother or at him for shouting at her.

“You apologized for Atlas, and I must apologize for my mother,” Eleanor stuttered. She lowered her voice some. “I might comment that her bark is worse than her bite, but I’m not sure that’s true.”

Gabriel turned his attention fully to Eleanor. “I am your chaperone and not hers. I will look after you, but I don’t have the same task set as I do for your mother. There are behaviors I will not tolerate in my home, but your mother has not yet crossed the line. If she does, she will know it.”

Atlas sensed the shift in mood, and he moved from Eleanor’s lap to take his place back at Gabriel’s side. Eleanor placed her hands in her lap where Atlas’s giant head had been, and she looked down just as her mother had, wearing enough shame for both of them.